CAIRO: Minni Minnawi, the leader of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) who signed a deal with Khartoum to end the conflict in the western region of Darfur, on Thursday called on Egypt to pursue its support of peace efforts. We have asked Egypt to support the efforts to achieve stability and to help with the funds for the reconstruction, said Minnawi after meeting with Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit in Cairo. Minnawi assured that his group will do everything possible to ensure the implementation of the peace deal fully. On May 5, a larger faction of the SLM led by Minnawi signed a peace deal with Khartoum in the Nigerian capital Abuja to bring an end to a civil war in the western Sudanese region that left between 180,000 and 300,000 dead and more than 2.4 million people displaced. A smaller faction of the SLM led by Abdel Wahid Al-Nur and another group the Justice and Equality Movement have refused to sign the accord, saying it did not meet all their demands. For his part, Abul-Gheit reiterated his call for all parties to sign the agreement. He added that Egypt was ready to help all the parties who have signed the peace agreement with the implementation and to participate in the Darfur reconstruction efforts. On his arrival at Cairo airport Wednesday, Minnawi told reporters that clashes in the Darfur town of Kordofan which killed 12 people on Monday were a security issue not a political one. He called on Chad and Khartoum to stop supporting certain groups in order to achieve stability in the country. AFP
Minnawi calls on Egypt to support Darfur peace
